Ambush in Eventide
by Angel46
Summary: Rating for possible future violence. St. Bartelby's sister school comes for a visit, but right as the plane lands, tragedy strikes and St. Bartelby's may be the next target. R&r please!
1. Messages

As is usual, this is not a romance. I own nothing except for the idea of St. Mary-Catherine's and anyone you don't recognize from the books.

**Disclaimer: With the famous last words: I'm not ready yet, I won't be gone a minute but I won't forget...**

It was a cold day in the first semester of Artemis's fourth year at St. Bartelby's. A day like any other, or so they believed. In actuality, this day would change his life and everyone else's forever...

At precisely 1 o'clock in the afternoon, a sharp bell pierced the silence, signaling lunch for the drowsy boys. Artemis Fowl I I calmly gathered his supplies and textbook, unconcerned with the time. School lunches held no appeal for him whatsoever, despite its 'nutritional' value. If he happened to be late, it would not shatter anyone's world. As he walked out of the classroom, he felt the teacher's eyes on his back; slightly bewildered and more than a little intimidated. Artemis's sharp ears caught the unmistakable sound of a jet landing on the private landing strip constructed only last year by the administration for long-distance transfer students and/or important visitors.

Briefly, the genius recalled that the Headmaster had made an announcement the previous week about a visiting group of students from their sister school, St. Mary-Catherine's Center of Education, the female equivalent of St. Bartelby's. Artemis resisted the urge to curl his lip in disgust at the conversations he heard flitting about in the hallways, little rumors of what would happen when the female students arrived. Pure teenage drivel, as usual. Artemis fully intended to stay in his dorm room all week long until their so-called 'sister school' departed the premises. Artemis made his way through the lunch line and promptly carried his tray to an empty table with the confident notion that it would remain empty. The other students had long since learned to avoid him. "Hey, Arty-man!" ...except that one.

Artemis lifted a forkful of caviar to his mouth(specially imported, as per his father's request) pretending that he hadn't heard the use of his undignified nickname. Trevor Friedman slid into the seat across from the fifteen year old vampiric genius. "What's up, Arty-miss-fool?" Artemis rewarded the dark-haired boy with a look of pure disdain before returning to his meal, declining to dignify that with an answer. "The chicks just arrived, man," Whispered Trevor excitedly, green eyes shining with a disgustingly eager air. "You're goin' to the assembly, right? Who knows, we might get lucky."

Artemis didn't have to ask what Trevor meant by 'getting lucky'. After a carefully selected mouthful of steak, he replied acidly, "No, you go ahead. Perhaps some unfortunate, brainless dimwit will find you remotely attractive and give you the attention you are so sickeningly desperate to receive." The food tasted like sand on his tongue; it was all he could do to make himself swallow it. Reluctantly, he put his fork down, resigned to going hungry for the moment. "I have better things to do with my time than drool over the opposite sex."

Trevor was unaffected by Fowl's acid words, as usual. "Come on, dude! At least we can make fun of the headmaster later." Artemis sneered openly, taking a sip of his bottled spring water. "If you go, I'll--" He broke off as the intercom crackled into life, tilting his head up to listen.

"_Students, this is your Headmaster speaking. The assembly will begin in ten minutes_. _Due to some recent, tragic events, it is now mandatory. Teachers, if you would please begin directing the students to the auditorium, it would be most helpful. Thank you for your time."_ He sounded strangely choked up, like he had been crying. That in itself was enough to spark Artemis's interest.

He rose from his sitting position as his cell-phone buzzed lightly in his pocket. Curious, Artemis pulled it out and flipped open the screen. **URGENT!** Read the title. The number was unlisted, but Artemis already knew it was Butler. No one else had his number. He opened the message and began to read: _Artemis, there is trouble. A terrorist organization, unnamed yet, detonated a bomb in St._ _Mary-Catherine's school. Evidence suggests that they are targeting several other schools across Europe, including St. Bartelby's, for further terrorist activity. I am flying in as soon as your father returns with the jet. Artemis, be CAREFUL. If you see any suspicious activity, report it immediately. Please, Artemis, don't put yourself at risk._ _Soon, Butler._

"-oming?" Trevor's voice broke into his reverie.

"Hm?" Artemis looked up, startled and more than a little concerned. Butler wouldn't have contacted him unless it was urgent...this must be more serious than a little attack. "Oh, of course. Lead on, my salivating nuisance." Worried looking teachers herded them quickly through the halls, seeming more frazzled than usual. Artemis frowned as he walked by, noting the liquid shimmering in a few of their eyes. What could have been so terrible as to disturb them so badly? Well, besides himself, of course. He was seated carefully in the upper-left half of the auditorium, directly opposing the large group of females around his age group. They were laughing and giggling and carrying on, like girls typically do. Maybe this 'tragedy' wasn't so serious after all...or maybe they just didn't know about it yet.

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**Do let me know what you all thought :) Thanks for reading, and as usual, r&r!**


	2. The Bombing of St Mary Catherine's

**Disclaimer: How can you expect people in their right minds to not see between the cracks and notice that there's something missing?**

The Headmaster of St. Bartelby's stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat a few times before loosening his tie. "Thank you all for coming. This week was supposed to be an enjoyable one, when we could interact with our sister school, St. Mary-Catherine's...but recent events have cast a shadow over our meeting." The room slowly fell silent, all conversations halting. What was he talking about? "We just received word an hour ago about a terrible tragedy...I am very sorry to say that St. Mary-Catherine's was just bombed by a group of people, whom we have yet to discover. All students and teachers who did not come on this outing were vaporized in the blast."

Somewhere to Artemis's right, a girl began sobbing loudly, quickly joined by the others. "This is a hard time for all of us, but we have to stick together...and I'm sorry to say that Mary Catherine's may only be the first in a group of attacks. Until Interpol can sort this out, we are initiating a lock down on the premises. No one will be allowed to enter or leave. We are already taking preventative steps to ensure that St. Bartelby's does not suffer the same fate." For a moment, he was silenced by a fresh round of weeping from the St. Mary's side of the room. Artemis turned his head towards their group of no more than fifty students and felt a powerful wave of sympathy wash over him. He wasn't one to tolerate unnecessary emotion, but this was a tragedy indeed. Grief for the beloved dead was not something he would frown upon too harshly. "Fortunately for us, Mary-Catherine's new grief counselor, Dr. Gatling, flew in with their little group. If anyone needs to talk about this, you can sign out of class and talk for however long you need. In the meantime, he would like to say a few words."

Dr. Gatling, a diminutive man, stepped up to the microphone and gave it a peremptory tap before clearing his throat and beginning, "This is a terrible time, for all of us. I assure you that my heart aches with yours for the losses of our friends, families, and co-workers. We must pull together in our time of need! However, we must also take certain steps to prevent the same thing from happening here. As your kind headmaster already stated, we will be imposing a lockdown. I'm afraid that I must also add a few regulations for everyone's safety. All phone usage is hereby banned, as well as the use of chat rooms and e-mails. If the killers are indeed at St. Bartelby's, we must not let them communicate and warn their accomplices. Students will be accompanied everywhere by a teacher or a designated guide. You must be in class, with a teacher, or in your dorm rooms at **all times. **No exceptions."

Artemis' eyes narrowed sharply. Although the new rules made sense, they were also very offputting and suspicious. E-mails and phone calls he could understand, but chat rooms? A complete lockdown? _Escorts_ to classes? What were they, kindergardeners? Artemis supposed it was logical, but he was leery of being cut off from the outside world...ah well, if the need arose, he could simply disregard the rules, as usual. Trevor, Artemis noticed, was looking rather annoyed but still very fascinated with a particularly broken-hearted brunette across the aisle. "Trevor," Artemis sneered, "If your jaw hangs open any further, you are likely to swallow countless flies, along with your little love interest."

Artemis was strangely talkative(compared to normally) when Trevor was around...the pathetic boy left himself open for all sorts of insults and psychological attacks. Perhaps he would eventually learn not to let his guard down around Artemis Fowl I I. Trevor tossed him a lazily cocky glance, "You're just jealous 'cause I can get any girl in this room, and you can't even snag a virtual gal." Artemis sniffed loudly to show just how ridiculous that statement was.

"If I were interested in any sort of female, I would undoubtedly be bothered by your bravado. But, as it is, I am content to maintain my status as a genius and mock your status as a perverted lowlife who has nothing better to do with his time than drool over a mourning girl." Trevor shut up. Apparently Dr. Gatling had finally finished his little speech, for the stage was empty, and the auditorium was rapidly attaining that status as well. Artemis rose to his feet and made his way out of the area, intent on returning to his dorm and possibly picking up a bit of extra caviar on the way.

On his way back from the lunch room, Artemis walked past several knots of girls silently weeping together, trying to comfort each other while crying salty tears of their own. More than once, he had nearly collided with a grieving student rushing headlong through the halls, blinded by their tears. To be honest, it was getting annoying. He turned his head to more important matters...for instance, how to get around the new rules and regulations? Ah, what an easy problem. Artemis smiled vampirically as he remembered his stash of transistor, CB, and normal radios as well as his long distance walkie-talkies. Those poor fools had no idea how stupid they were being when it came to trying to hedge Artemis Fowl in with their petty little rules...

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Please R&R and let me know what you think. I hope you all enjoy!


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